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Adventure Time: Princess Day DVD Review

Format: Multiple Formats, Animated, Color, NTSC

Language: English

Number of discs: 1

Studio: Cartoon Network

DVD Release Date: July 29, 2014

Run Time: 176 minutes

“Adventure Time”
is in that new category of animation on the cartoon network which I find
confounding, albeit remarkably entertaining. It seems as though this is a
straightforward kid’s show, but it gets remarkably close to being edgy enough
for adults at moments. There is always a ripcord to pull, quickly pulling the
narrative back to safety in time for the episode’s close, but watching this
show with children present often makes me nervous. Perhaps this is partly due
to the high octane, bizarre, and often psychedelic nature of the show which
often makes me feel as though I’m on more drugs than I am.

The story
follows the adventures and misadventures of a human boy named Finn and his
brother, a dog named Jake. Finn was adopted by Jake’s parents and they roam the
magical land looking for adventures. Along the way they come across a number of
regular characters, both good and evil. The villains include Marceline the
vampire and the Ice King, and their main ally and adventure companion is
Princess Bubblegum.

Although the
entire seasons have been regularly released on DVD and Blu-ray, the series
often releases these compilation collections, which have an assortment of
episodes from a variety of seasons. There is the implication that this
collection of cartoons is thematically linked in some way, but they are merely
titled for a singular popular episode included in the set. Previously, “The
Suitor” was a collection of cartoons that went with the title episode, and the
same is true of “Princess Day.”

There are a
collection of episodes about Princess Bubblegum in this set, including the
title episode, but there are also a handful of random episodes about other
characters as well. This is essentially a single-disc collection of episodes
for fans that are dedicated enough to want to own a few favorites without the
commitment necessary for an entire season. The special features include the
featurette, “Little Did You Know.”